Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are defibrillators that are designed to be operated by users with minimal training. Because AEDs can be used by non-medical personnel to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), they are being deployed in a myriad of locations outside of traditional medical settings. As a result, more and more non-medical establishments are purchasing AEDs for deployment in their environments. Because of this ease of use, reliability and cost have become important factors in the design of AED devices.
An AED generally comprises a base unit and a defibrillation pad assembly. The defibrillation pad assembly generally comprises patient electrodes, a connector assembly, and wires interconnecting the patient electrodes and the connector assembly. The patient electrodes are also known as defibrillation pads. These electrodes are attached to the patient and serve to interconnect, via the wires and connector assembly, the patient to the AED. This interconnection enables both receiving electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from the patient and delivering defibrillation shocks to the patient. Defibrillation pad assemblies for AED systems are generally single-use, disposable items. As the applications of AED systems in non-medical environments increase, the need becomes more significant to reduce cost and facilitate ease-of-use.
As the connector assembly can be a significant cost component of the defibrillator pad assembly, it is desirable to reduce the cost of manufacturing the connector assembly. Generally, metal pin or metal blade style contacts within the connector assembly serve as the interconnection sites between the AED base and defibrillation pad assembly. Coupling these metal pin or blade contacts to the electrode wires and forming the contacts within the connector housing generally requires considerable handling during manufacture and may also require special tooling. This equipment and labor increases the cost of the connector assemblies for AED systems.
In general, the base unit of an AED system has no information as to the nature of the defibrillation pad assembly connected to it. Generally, defibrillation pad assemblies have a human readable expiration date and are only intended to be used once. Typically, an AED base unit cannot determine the age or history of a connected pad assembly. Thus an operator may attempt to operate the AED with a used or expired pad assembly without warning.
Used or expired defibrillation pads may be less conductive which may result in less effective rescue attempts. Likewise, an AED base unit that cannot determine what type of pad assembly is attached, is usually unable to adjust the level of shock energy supplied to the pad assembly. For example, a defibrillation pad assembly may be intended for a specific use such as adults, children, or training. If the AED could not sense that child pads were connected, it could not automatically adjust the shock energy to a lower level that could be helpful for child patients. Improperly adjusted shock energy levels may result in less effective rescue attempts.
In light of the manufacturing complexity and tooling requirements of metal pin or blade style contacts, there is a need for a connector system that may reduce the cost and manufacturing complexity of the connector assembly thereby reducing the cost of the defibrillation pad assembly. Since an AED that determines the history, expiration date, and intended use for an attached pad assembly may assure more effective rescue attempts, there is a need for configuration information to be stored within a connector system which the AED base unit may read from and write to. Given the minimal training requirements for the operators of AED systems, automatic and intelligent functionality within the AED unit is highly desirably.